Program Topic Choices

For Medical Professionals Only

Suspecting Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) in the Dyspneic Patient: Who, When and How

Pulmonary hypertension (elevated right ventricular systolic pressure) is common, often caused by left heart disease but also associated with various lung diseases or idiopathic in origin. A less common but deadly form, PAH is usually undiagnosed or misdiagnosed until it has progressed to an advanced stage. This case-based lecture, designed for primary care clinicians, identifies clinical clues for the presence of PH in dyspneic patients; presents keys to differentiating PAH from other more common forms of PH; and offers a practical paradigm for collaborative diagnosis and optimal long-term management of PAH. View listing of speakers

Designed for clinicians who screen for or help manage the long-term care of patients with PAH, this presentation highlights key features of the diagnostic and therapeutic decision trees in the initial and long-term evaluation and management of PAH, identifying pivotal tests and assessing the clinical trial evidence base, as well as best practices for optimal collaborative care involving health care professionals on the front line and those at PAH referral centers. View listing of speakers

Current Approaches to PH: Clinical Cases Across Categories

Pulmonary hypertension is broadly classified into 5 groups that share similar pathological and hemodynamic characteristics and therapeutic approaches: PAH, PH due to LHD, PH due to lung diseases and/or hypoxia, CTEPH, and PH with unclear multifactorial mechanisms. This lecture uses a case-based approach to explore current paradigms and clinical pearls in the diagnosis and management of PH across classifications. View listing of speakers

Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients With Connective Tissue Disease

Of particular value for clinicians who screen or care for patients with or at risk for connective tissue diseases (CTDs), this presentation outlines the epidemiology and prognostic significance of PH in common CTDs, with a focus on systemic sclerosis; presents evidence supporting the urgent need for effective screening and early diagnosis of pulmonary complications in these patients; and offers practical strategies for comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of PAH in patients with CTDs. View listing of speakers

Chronic Thromboembolic PH (CTEPH): An Overview

Occurring as a result of non-resolved acute pulmonary embolism, the diagnosis of CTEPH is often missed or delayed. This lecture reviews the pathophysiology of CTEPH, describes appropriate workup and screening, instructs on optimal preoperative evaluation and postoperative care associated with thromboendarterectomy, and identifies specific measures that can be taken to optimize outcomes over the long-term. View listing of speakers

Cases in Cardiac Imaging: Focus on PH

Designed for cardiovascular and pulmonary specialists, this case-based presentation reviews the current diagnostic workup for PAH; assesses the benefits and limitations of standard imaging tools such as echocardiography, as well as newer modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging; demonstrates the core value of right heart catheterization (including vasodilator testing) as the diagnostic gold standard; and summarizes the benefits and limitations of cardiac imaging tools in assessing the effects of PAH treatments acutely and over the long term. View listing of speakers

Under Pressure: The Right Ventricle in PAH

Right ventricular (RV) function is closely associated with symptoms and survival in PAH. This lecture, most appropriate for clinicians with some working knowledge of PAH, is designed to enhance understanding of the role of the right ventricle in disease progression, determine appropriate methods for its imaging and functional assessment, assess prognostic implications of declining RV function and impact of PAH therapies, and implement appropriate management of RV failure in patients with PAH. View listing of speakers

New Concepts and Clinical Controversies in PAH

Designed for cardiopulmonary specialists with extensive PAH experience, this presentation explores newer concepts and clinical controversies in the diagnosis and management of PAH, such as the role of various biomarkers and imaging techniques, the benefits and limitations of combination versus sequential therapy, the relative merits of early diagnosis and more aggressive management versus a more gradual approach, and the strengths and limitations of specific end points in clinical trials and practice. View listing of speakers

Highlights of the 5th World Symposium on PH

Clinicians already familiar with the basic epidemiologic, pathophysiologic, diagnostic, and clinical management cornerstones of PH will benefit from this lecture highlighting the latest concepts and clinical paradigms 129 global experts put forth in their task-force findings and recommendations at the most recent world symposium on PH in Nice. View listing of speakers

DIAMONDSUPPORTER

PLATINUMSUPPORTER

GOLDSUPPORTERS

Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc.

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Bayer HealthCareUnited Therapeutics Corporation

This is a program of the PHA Medical Education Fund, made possible through educational grants from our supporters.

This activity is jointly provided by Washington University School of Medicine, Continuing Medical Education and the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.

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